Brandon Weeden Steps In, and Texans Stride Past Colts Into First

Houston’s Jaelen Strong had the go-ahead score. Brandon Weeden was pressed into service at quarterback when T. J. Yates hurt his knee.CreditCreditMichael Conroy/Associated Press

By The Associated Press

Dec. 20, 2015

With Houston’s top two quarterbacks out with injuries, Brandon Weeden was pressed into service late in the first half, and he responded by carrying the Texans to their first win at Indianapolis in their history, a 16-10, come-from-behind victory on Sunday that pushed them past the Colts and into the A.F.C. South lead.

Weeden led Houston to two field goals and threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jaelen Strong for the lead with 10 minutes 36 seconds left.

“Look, I’m not sure he has the whole offense down pat, but I think he has enough that he can go in there and function,” Coach Bill O’Brien said of Weeden.

Weeden got his opportunity because Brian Hoyer was out with a concussion and his replacement, T. J. Yates, left with 1:14 to go in the first half after he injured his left knee on a scramble.

O’Brien said that he did not expect Yates to play next week and that Hoyer’s status was unclear.

Weeden, cut by Dallas in November, was claimed off waivers by Houston on Nov. 18.

Allowing just 190 yards of offense, Houston (7-7) won for the first time in three weeks.

CARDINALS 40, EAGLES 17 David Johnson ran for 187 yards and three touchdowns, and visiting Arizona routed Philadelphia to clinch the N.F.C. West title.

The Cardinals (12-2) will earn a first-round bye with a win over Green Bay next week. They even have a chance to secure the No. 1 seed if they win out and Carolina (14-0) loses its last two games.

The Eagles (6-8) will win the N.F.C. East title if they beat Washington (7-7) at home and the Giants (6-8) on the road.

CHIEFS 34, RAVENS 14 Kansas City capitalized on an abundance of miscues by host Baltimore and became the first team in N.F.L. history to follow a five-game skid with an eight-game winning streak in the same season. The Chiefs (9-5) also kept themselves in the thick of the A.F.C. playoff picture.

Tyvon Branch returned a fumble 73 yards for a touchdown, and Marcus Peters scored on a 90-yard interception return for the Chiefs.

STEELERS 34, BRONCOS 27 Facing the N.F.L.’s top-ranked defense, Ben Roethlisberger passed for 380 yards and three touchdowns, and Antonio Brown caught 16 passes for 189 yards and two scores as Pittsburgh (9-5) rallied for a home win that put it in position for the A.F.C.’s second wild-card spot.

Denver’s Emmanuel Sanders caught 10 passes for 181 yards and a score in his first game against his former team, and Brock Osweiler threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a score. But Osweiler struggled in the second half, completing just 7 of 26 passes, as the Broncos (10-4) lost their second straight and failed to lock up the A.F.C. West title.

After Ryan Shazier intercepted an Osweiler pass, Roethlisberger found Brown to give the Steelers the lead with 3:34 to go. Pittsburgh’s defense twice stopped the Broncos in the final minutes.

PATRIOTS 33, TITANS 16 Tom Brady threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns to help host New England ensure it will finish with at least 12 wins for a sixth straight season.

The Tennessee rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota sustained a knee injury on a sack in the second quarter and did not return. He said after the game that he could have but that he agreed with Mike Mularkey, the Titans’ interim coach, that it was not worth the risk.

James White, filling in as the Patriots’ top running back with Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount sidelined by season-ending injuries, caught seven passes for 71 yards.

CHARGERS 30, DOLPHINS 14 Early in the second quarter, Philip Rivers was intercepted by Miami’s Reshad Jones, who wove through traffic for 42 yards before guard Orlando Franklin stripped the ball from him — the play of the day as the Chargers played perhaps their last game in San Diego after 55 seasons there.

After a scramble in pursuit of the fumble, Rivers jumped on the ball, and the Chargers moved down the field for a field goal and a 9-0 lead.

The Chargers’ chairman, Dean Spanos, has been angling to move them to the Los Angeles market.

REDSKINS 35, BILLS 25 Host Washington, the N.F.C. East leader, won a second straight game for the first time in more than a year. The Redskins (7-7) can secure a spot in the postseason by winning on Saturday night at Philadelphia.

With the loss, Buffalo (6-8) is assured of missing the playoffs for the 16th year in a row, the longest active drought in the N.F.L.

Aided by a key fourth-down encroachment penalty, the Redskins scored touchdowns on each of their first three possessions for the first time since September 1999.

PACKERS 30, RAIDERS 20 Aaron Rodgers threw a touchdown pass, and Damarious Randall returned an interception for a score to help Green Bay win at Oakland. In the first quarter, with the Giants’ loss to Carolina, the Packers (10-4) clinched a playoff spot for a seventh straight season, a franchise record.

The rookie Amari Cooper caught six passes for two touchdowns and 120 yards, becoming the first Raider to crack the 1,000-yard milestone since Randy Moss in 2005, but two early interceptions from Derek Carr put Oakland in a hole.

The Raiders (6-8) were eliminated from playoff contention for the 13th straight season.

Wilson, who completed 21 of 30 passes for 249 yards, became the first quarterback with three or more touchdown passes and no interceptions in five straight games, although he was nearly picked off at the goal line by Tramon Williams in the closing minutes.

Cleveland picked up 80 yards on its first possession but just 27 in the rest of the first half and 150 in the remainder of the game.

Seattle started with a running back committee in trying to replace Marshawn Lynch and Thomas Rawls. Derrick Coleman got the first carry, and Bryce Brown got a handful of looks, but it was Christine Michael — signed last week — who shined, with 84 rushing yards.

BENGALS 24, 49ERS 14 Jeremy Hill ran for two 1-yard touchdowns to back quarterback A. J. McCarron in his first career start, and Cincinnati clinched a fifth straight postseason berth by winning at San Francisco.

As Andy Dalton watched from the sideline with a cast over his broken right thumb, McCarron threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Kroft just before halftime, and the Bengals forced three second-quarter turnovers to take command.

VIKINGS 38, BEARS 17 Adrian Peterson missed some time because of an ankle injury but finished with 63 yards on 18 carries as host Minnesota stopped its losing streak at two games and extended Chicago’s to three. The Vikings (9-5) can secure a playoff spot with a home win over the Giants next weekend.

FALCONS 23, JAGUARS 17 With two fourth-quarter fields goals, Atlanta ended a six-game skid with a road win that all but eliminated Jacksonville from the A.F.C. South race.

A version of this article appears in print on , Section D, Page 2 of the New York edition with the headline: Weeden Steps In, and Texans Stride Past Colts Into First. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe